The present invention relates to a guard molding which is adhered longitudinally on each outer side surface of a car to prevent damages of the side surface due to light contact with other cars or articles and to refine the appearance.
Conventional solid guard molding is shown in FIG. 1, which is denoted by reference numeral 1 and extends longitudinally between front and rear edges of a door 2. FIGS. 2A and 2B show that, when the door 2 is opened about a pivot center 4, side edge portion of the guard molding 1 may interfere with an adjacent part 3, e.g. a fender or another door. Thus, in order to avoid such an interference, one end portion of the guard molding 1 is usually formed as a stepped recess 5, as shown in FIG. 3. The recess 5 may be formed at the end portion of the guard molding 1 for another reasons, e.g. to improve the appearance of the car. As the recess 5 is normally formed by machining, traces of machine tool remain visible from outside, impairing the appearance of the edge portions of the guard molding.
As shown in FIG. 4A, another type of conventional guard molding 6 has an outer shell 6a forming therein a hollow space 6b, which may be filled with foamed plastic material 6c (FIG. 4B). Although such structures are light in weight and less costly, when the edge portion of the guard molding 6 is recessed, the inner hollow space 6b or the foamed plastic material 6c filled therein is exposed so that the intended sharp appearance of bright decorative coating 7 on the guard molding 6 cannot be actually obtained. Thus, in order to avoid such an exposure, an end cap 8 having a recess 8a, as shown in FIG. 5, is usually connected to the end portion of the guard molding 6 which itself is not recessed. However, the guard moldings 1 and 6 are formed by extrusion process whereas the end cap 8 is formed by die casting, so that the molding 6 and the end cap 8 cannot be precisely aligned and the connection between these parts remains conspicuous. By this, a refined appearance is not achieved. Further, when the decorative coating 7 is applied on the guard molding 6, similar coating should be applied by plating on the portion of the end cap 8 connected with the decorative coating 7. Thus, the cost of the end cap 8 is increased. As the end cap 8 is solid and relatively heavy, merit of the weight reduction by the hollow guard molding 6 filled with foamed plastic material is cancelled.